Michigan City residents, activists protest coal plant, data centers
Michigan City residents and environmental activists protested NIPSCO’s coal plant over concerns that it could remain open to supply electricity for the region’s growing data center demand. Protesters urged NIPSCO to honor its planned 2028 retirement date and raised concerns about air pollution, coal ash, water pollution and costs to ratepayers.
Michigan City residents joined the Sierra Club and Just Transition Northwest Indiana in protesting NIPSCO’s Michigan City Generating Station. The utility had planned to retire the coal plant in 2028, but activists fear rising electricity demand from regional data centers could lead NIPSCO to delay that plan.
Residents Dave and Gloria Horn, Sierra Club organizer Megan Anderson and Just Transition Northwest Indiana Executive Director Ashley Williams said the plant’s pollution and coal ash threaten local health and the environment. They also criticized the prospect of using fossil-fuel generation to power artificial intelligence data centers and urged greater investment in renewable energy.
NIPSCO said it remains focused on reliable and affordable energy and infrastructure investment but did not clarify whether the plant’s retirement schedule has changed. The facility’s future is expected to be discussed during NIPSCO’s 20-year energy planning meetings.